Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

This Weekend at CR: Party Saturday, Baptisms Sunday

Hi everyone! Pastor Mark here withering away in the heat like everyone else. Ice cold lemonade, trips to Dairy Queen, oscillating fans... It must be summertime in Mansfield, Ohio. I hope this weekly message finds you staying as cool as possible and looking forward to one of the best weekends ever at Church Requel.

Jack and Sheri Nichols

Party at Jack and Sheri's Home. They were married one month ago and now Jack and Sheri are ready to party. Officially it's called the wedding reception, but knowing the Nichols, this may be THE CR party of the year! Mary Kay checked in with Sheri yesterday and learned that they have rented a beautiful tent for their scenic back yard. The food will be amazing and plentiful. All you need to bring are your congratulations, your appetite and a joyful spirit! The party starts at 1:30 and lasts until 4:30. Mary Kay and I hope to see all of you there!

Diana, Mike, and Lisa will be baptized Sunday

Baptisms on Sunday. Our three newest members have all made the decision to be baptized this coming Sunday evening at Church Requel. This worship service will be no less of a celebration than the party on Saturday. Diana, Mike, and Lisa have each recorded a baptism testimonial video, which we'll all watch together before their baptisms. We'll answer 4 questions about baptism in the sermon. I've also prepared a special water-wet children's sermon your kids will not want to miss. We'll sing together, share communion together, pray together, and celebrate new lives in Christ through baptisms. What a wonderful worship experience we have to look forward to!

Prayers at Church Requel. I'm pleased to report that Dick Jourdan came through his triple bypass surgery with flying colors. He will be released from the hospital later this morning. Also good news, little Lincoln Bohnke came through his heart catheterization on Tuesday in good shape. The family learned that Lincoln does not suffer from cardio hypertension. While that is also good news, the report didn't reveal any more clues as to why Lincoln cannot get off the ventilator. Pray for Dick's ongoing recovery and for insight and wisdom for Lincoln's doctors... and for patience for Lincoln's family, who understandably just want answers.

That will wrap up this week's blog post. This will be a fantastic weekend for Church Requel. I'm looking forward to celebrating with you all weekend long! With all love and affection, Pastor Mark.

 

Posted with Blogsy

5 Steps To Personal Health Care Responsibility

Later this morning we will all hear the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Health Care Act. Either way it goes I've already realized that my health is largely a factor for which I'm responsible. And I'm taking steps to turn realization into actualization. In this post I'd like to consider my personal health care reform: the difference between realization and actualization.

Realizing my health is my responsibility. It's no secret that health issues are different after age 50 than before. It is remarkable, however, just how easy it is for me to keep my head in the sand. For half a century I lived a health care-free life, where the consequences of my habits were not serious. I could eat and easily work off the excess calories. Exercise was more or less a take it or leave it, do-it-when-I-feel-like-it ocassion. I could gain weight and then lose it quickly.

Now at age 55 the free ride is over. Everything I do has consequences for my health. That's the first half of realization. But there's more. I am not without choices and opportunities. I can take daily steps to hold on to or get back to good health and to make the most of the rest of my life.

Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules today, or how Congress responds, or who is next elected president, my future health - or lack thereof - will largely come to me from my own actions today. I am responsible for my health: not the government, not the health care industry, not the insurance companies.

Actualizing good health habits. Not only is it remarkable how long I was able to keep my head in the sand on the realization side, I have a remarkable ability to ignore my own realizations. In other words I can realize but not actualize. We've all done this to ourselves, right? That's what tomorrow is for - as in I will start "tomorrow." No more. Today is my day. Today is the day that I will STEP into good health tomorrow. Here are 5 steps I am taking today to actualize my good health tomorrow.

Church for the Nones - Impossible Beauty

Reaching, attracting and retaining people to a new church is a difficult thing to accomplish. In Mansfield, when people are asked what church they attend, more people check "none" than any other choice. Those are the people we at Church Requel are aiming for. We are a church for the "nones." A difficult thing to accomplish becomes a nearly impossible thing to accomplish, if the target audience are people not attending church anywhere else.

Transitioning someone from "unchurched" to "churched" is a slow, sometimes frustrating experience - but when it happens, it's really a beautiful thing! 

We are a church for the unchurched. George Hunter coined the phrase, church for the unchurched, with his book by the same name back in 1996. He described a church returning to its apostolic origins, reaching a mission field in its own back yard. America, Hunter pointed out, had become one of the greatest mission fields in the world. Rather than being a country sending out Christian missionaries to other nations, the U.S. was a country in need of missionaries.

In the two decades since Hunter described the unchurched, unchurched people have changed. Twenty years ago an unchurched person in America had a memory of church and, when tough times came into their lives, they often became spiritual seekers looking to the church for answers. Today most unchurched people don't even have a memory of the church having answers. They have been disconnected from the church so long that it doesn't even occur to them to seek out the church or its teachings.

Ed Stetzer, who writes often about these trends, puts it this way:

Churches that once targeted seekers are finding that portions of subsequent generations do not have any religious memory at all--and it is harder to appeal to their seeking. They are the "Nones" - those who, when asked about religious affiliation, check "none." In a post-seeker context, churches will have to create new models to lead their people to engage their neighbors who might not find appealing an invitation to church.

This coming Sunday Church Requel will be baptizing 3 adults, who one year ago would have checked the "none" category. All three have a distant memory of the church from their childhood. As adults, for many reasons, they joined the majority of people not attending church anywhere.

4 Ways I Sell Myself Short [Sermon Notes]

As American Christ followers we too readily give up our God given birthrights. We may not sell them for a bowl of soup, like Esau, but we do too easily sell ourselves short! Today we consider 4 ways we sell ourselves short.

Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves.  For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before.  And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say!  For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material.  I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.

Summer Singles Part 4: "Selling Short" 06.24.12

Scripture:  Genesis 25:29-34 / Follow the YouVersion LIVE Event Notes

Listen to this week's CR Sermon & Podcast (fast forward to minute 55 to listen to sermon):

Intro: Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup.  We’re quick to criticize until we realize that we often sell our birthright for a whole lot less than it’s worth.  You say you don’t come from a rich family?  You don’t have an inheritance?  Allow me to correct you.  You are born an American. Therefore you have inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  If you are a member of this church you have the right to love God and others and the expectation to be loved by your fellow church members. And as a Christian you have some of the greatest rights of all - forgiveness by God, the right of being co-heir with Christ, and God’s Presence living with you eternally!

Perhaps it’s understandable when you are struggling without a job, or frustrated in a relationship, or short of money, or in poor health, to think to yourself, “A lot of good that all does me!”  Well that brings us smack into the middle of the story of Esau and his bowl of soup, when he’s famished and says, “What good is the birthright to me?”  Leads us to...

Today’s Big Idea: It’s easy to _SELL MYSELF SHORT_.

If I am not deliberate in my actions and in my thinking, I’ll sell my birthright. Like Esau, I won’t appreciate who I am and what God has done for me.  We have a word for it... I sell myself short.  I think less of myself and my birthright than what I should. I take it for granted or I forget about it all together.

Illustration - Selling Short. In the stock market business there is a special kind of order called a short sale.  Usually we think of making money by buying a stock for a low price and selling it later for a higher price.  But you don’t have to do it like that.  You can also sell a stock that you don’t own first... hoping then to buy it back later.  It’s called selling short.  You sell short stocks that you think will go down.  In the same way we often sell ourselves short... we put ourselves down, we undervalue our worth. Like Esau we undervalue our birthright. Today I’d like to talk about 4 ways that I might sell myself short.

Selling Short [Video Sermon]

It’s understandable when I am struggling without a job, or frustrated in a relationship, or short of money, or in poor health, to think to myself, “A lot of good God's birthright does me!”  The Big Idea of this video sermon is: It’s easy to SELL MYSELF SHORT. If I am not deliberate in my actions and in my thinking, I’ll sell my birthright. I won’t appreciate who I am and what God has done for me. I'll think less of myself and my birthright than what I should. 

 

Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Follow along with the YouVersion LIVE sermon notes.
• Download 120624OUTSIDE
• Download 120624INSIDE
• Download 120624 Selling Short TEACHING NOTES
• Download 120624 Selling Short NOTES SLIDES
• Download 110624 Planning Sheet

All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog.  Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week?  Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices.  You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast.

014: Selling Short [Podcast]

This week's podcast focuses on selling ourselves short. It's so easy to do. We settle for less than what God has designed us to enjoy and to become.  

Our music this week comes from Broda, specifically "Don't Sell Yourself Short" from her Spiral Staircase album.

[6:46] 4 ways that Mark has sold himself short in his past. Take a stroll down memory lane with me and maybe learn a few things about me you didn't know.  Here are 4 different ocassions when I just didn't have a big enough picture of what I could do or accomplish or become.  All 4 became great learning opportunities for me.

[15:45] Interview with Jillian. My daughter shares one time in her life when she has sold herself short. She also talks about her study to become a counselor and how people often need to see themselves in a new and fresh way.

[25:27] Interview with Lisa and Diana. Lisa Hatfield and Diana Devolder came to visit me last Thursday to record their baptism testimonial videos.  While they were here, we sat down and talked about how they have sometimes sold themselves short.

[40:06] 10 Key Points To Remember from Rick Warren.  At the end of 2011, Pastor Rick held a video conference call with many small church pastors.  I was included in that call.  As pastors we live with the constant tension between the ideal (our dream for our church) and the real (how things actually are). These are 10 key points Rick reminded us about and that I thought would be worth remembering on our "selling short" podcast halfway through the year.

[55:00] Sermon: "Selling Short"  - As American Christ followers we too readily give up our God given birthrights. We may not sell them for a bowl of soup, like Esau, but we do too easily sell ourselves short!  Here are 4 ways we sell ourselves short.  You can follow along with the YouVersion Sermon Notes here.

Listen to this week's Church Requel Podcast:

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

This Weekend at CR: Selling Short!

Hi Everyone! Pastor Mark here from a beautiful, southern Ohio vacation with family.  Mary Kay and I had a wonderful time visiting my brother, Todd, and his wife Amy last week.  

Todd and Mark during a bike ride.

Todd and I went for several long bike rides together.  They have some of the best trails that I've ever seen.  We rode the Little Miami Trail, which I believe is the longest trail in Ohio at over 70 miles long! I recorded a one-minute movie as I was biking along, if you want to see it.  

Summer Single. This week we're back and excited to share with you again Sunday evening at Church Requel.  Our summer single idea will be this:  "It's easy to sell myself short!" Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup.  Sometimes we sell for even less!  We'll consider 4 ways we sell ourselves short.  I enjoyed writing this talk. You won't want to miss it.  If you'd like a head start, check out the YouVersion sermon notes. 

Podcast Special Guests. Speaking of Selling Short, we continue this theme on Monday with the Church Requel podcast.  We invited fellow parishioners Diana Devolder and Lisa Hatfield to talk about times in their lives when they have sold themselves short.  We also have invited my daughter, Jillian Vincent, to talk about selling short from a counseling viewpoint.  And you'll hear me also talk a little bit more about my experiences selling short.

Special Video Prayer for Dick. I also had the great privilege of sharing some special time with Dick Jourdan this morning.  As many of you know, Dick is going into the hospital Monday morning for triple bypass surgery.  We've recorded a special prayer from Dick, which we will share Sunday evening. Also we plan to gather around Dick, as his church family, and pray for God's healing in his life. 

Sheri and Jack on their wedding day.

Church Requel Party Next Saturday! It's been almost a month since Jack and Sheri were married.  They've invited all of us to their place on Flowers Road for a big party next Saturday, June 30th, from 1:30pm until 4:30pm.  They are providing all the food and all the fixens! All we have to do is come and bring our appetites with us. Mary Kay and I are going to be there.  I hope everyone else has it marked on their calendars too! 

Baptisms on July 1st. The next day, on Sunday July 1st, we will have a baptism Sunday at Church Requel.  We have three baptisms confirmed at this point: Diana Devolder, Mike and Lisa Gilbert.  In fact, each of them have recorded their own video story that they plan to share with you before their baptisms next weekend.  They will be inviting family and friends to come and see.  I hope our church family comes out in a big way to show our support and acceptance of Diana, Mike and Lisa into our Church Requel family.

Do you want to be baptized? If you or a member of your family want to be baptized, it's still not to late to be included.  Email me - Mark.Pierce AT ChurchRequel DOT org - and I'll make a special appointment to go over the important details with you this week.  You may just want to talk to me about it.  That's fine too.  People often have lots of questions.

That will wrap up our weekly What's Happening This Weekend post.  I hope you all have a great weekend and that you'll join your CR family Sunday evening at 6pm.  See you then!  Pastor Mark

Video Stories For Baptisms

Later today I have the privilege of helping two more people tell their stories of how they came to faith in Christ. On July 1st Church Requel will baptize at least 3 folks who want to publicly affirm their new Christian lives. Though it is not a requirement for baptism, I have found that many people like to record their video story to be shown to our congregation before their baptism. These baptism services are some of our most popular worship services at Church Requel. Here are 4 reasons why baptism video stories work so well for us.

1. People love to hear the real stories of real people told in their own words. Pastors, you may be eloquent, but let's face it: our congregations hear from us all the time. There's something powerful about the authentic story coming from the story teller's own lips.
2. People love to tell their own stories. The story people know best is their own. Give them the chance to tell their story and most of the time they will take you up on it.
3. Video recording works well. Once people get over the presence of the cameras and microphones, they relax and just talk. The advantage to them is that they don't have to talk in front of a lot of people. And they always have the chance for a redo if they don't say want they want to the first time. The advantage to the pastor is the magic of editing - you can cut to the time frame you have available. And knowing the length of these video stories really helps when planning the service.
4. Video stories fit well in the spirit of 21st century baptisms. The whole idea behind historic baptisms was to publicly affirm a person's decision to follow Christ. Showing a video interview puts words and pictures and story behind the baptism. After we show the video story, the person who told his story walks out to the baptismal in the front of our church. There is even more meaning attached to the baptism for those watching; they feel like they really know the person being baptized.

Here is one example of a baptism we had last year. Frank Rutkowski came to faith in Christ during a home visit I shared with him in January 2011. He told his story on video one week later and was baptized a week after that. Sadly Frank passed away six months later, but his story is preserved for his family and friends. Frank also gave me permission to share his story with anyone who could be helped by it before his death. Below are two videos. The first is Frank's video story. The second is his and Theresa 's baptism at Church Requel.

Frank's Story from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Frank and Theresa's Baptism from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Blogsy App: I'm in love!

I have fallen in love again.

It's ok. Really. I'm not talking about another woman. I'm talking about my new Blogsy app on my first generation iPad.

I've owned my iPad for a couple of years now. As a Typepad blogger, I've been frustrated with the lack of iPad support from Typepad. There is a limited Typepad iPhone app and no Typepad iPad app. Trying to use the Typepad online blog editing tools with an iPad is worse than frustrating. It's maddening! That meant that anytime I wanted to write in my blog, I needed to pull out my laptop. No more. Now I have Blogsy on my iPad.

Blogsy is a full featured iPad application that allows me to do just about everything I want to do for blogging offline. I write, edit, insert pictures and videos on my iPad. I'm surprised by how well I can type on the built in iPad keyboard. I'm sure my typing skills probably has something to do with the fact that I've owned my iPad for awhile now. Blogsy provides 16 different font families, 7 different font sizes, and any text color or background I choose.

The genius of the Blogsy app are the built in services that support my blog writing that slide in from the right hand side of the screen. From here I can insert any photo on my local iPad, many photos that might be available online or that I have stored in online media libraries. I can also connect with my online videos in my YouTube and Vimeo accounts.

Inserting a photo takes a little bit of iPad finger coordination. One slides the photo over from the side and holds onto it with one finger, while moving the text up and down vertically with the other finger. I admit that I didn't do it right the first time. I can see this is something that just takes practice.

Inserting a link Is also a thing of genius with Blogsy. The Blogsy app contains a built in browser that also provides an automatic link to any highlighted text. This means that the Blogsy app user doesn't have to continuously switch from the Blogsy app to the Safari app, copy the link, switch back to Blogsy, and paste.

What if you are like me and sometimes want to work in HTML? Those of us who have been blogging for awhile sometimes like to peek behind the curtain. No problem in Blogsy. A three-finger swipe changes the screen from the pretty rich text interface to the actual HTML code. I especially like the black background on the HTML side.

One more thing that makes the Blogsy app so wonderful: the built in support is the best I have ever seen. Lance Barton and company have really helped lower the learning curve with how-to videos, an online guide, and lots of FAQs. The Typepad user will especially appreciate all the FAQs dedicated to interfacing with Typepad's unique features.

One thing that would have helped this newbie would have been some order to the videos. Many of the videos were code named to the particular past release of Blogsy, which was confusing.

One negative to be aware is for those who still use the 1st gen iPads. Blogsy uses a significant amount of memory resources. While writing this review USA Today and Fox News flashed a breaking story on my iPad, causing Blogsy to crash. While there is an auto-save feature, I did lose my last paragraph. I'm sure this would not be a problem with the latest generation of iPads.

Blogsy will change the way I blog. No longer will I reach for my laptop and hope that my battery will last long enough. Now I'll grab my Blogsy equipped iPad and be good to go for the whole day!

What about you? Do you use Blogsy? What are the features you love? What would you love to see coming soon to a new release near you? Leave your comments below. Let's talk!

4 Guidelines To Great Children's Sermons

A mom to came up to me at the end of a recent Church Requel service: "I wasn't going to come tonight. I worked all day and I was tired. I came home and I just wanted to crash. But Anna would have none of it. 'Mom, I want to go to church!'"

Church Requel is a small church. Typically we have less than 60 people attend our Sunday evening services. Yet our fastest growing demographic are children under the age of 10. Why? Because we make our services child friendly.

This year we have added children's sermons to our services. We invite the elementary-aged children to come up front with me. Usually I will sit on the platform and have them sit around me. These talks typically last 7 to 10 minutes. What is it about these short talks that make a child ASK to come to church? Here are 4 guidelines that can help you create great children's sermons.

Guideline #1: Use Object Lessons. I usually have a small table up front that contains an object lesson for the kids. It is always covered up, creating a curiosity factor. The kids can't wait to see what is under the tablecloth. Every sermon includes something different. When talking about living a fruitful life, I showed them two dishes - one with really rotten bananas and one with fresh bananas. 'What kind of life do you want to offer God?' I asked. When talking about God's help in life we set up bowling pins of plastic liter bottles. When we try to do things on our own without God's help, we bowled with a ping pong ball. With God's help we bowled - much more successfully - with a basketball. The key is to be creative and imaginative. Kids love seeing how things work and they have a much greater imagination than adults. Have fun here. Be a kid yourself!

Guideline #2: Focus your entire attention on the children. Usually - at first - the kids are nervous about being in front of everyone else. Look them in the eyes. Tell them that this is their special time with the pastor. Everyone else can listen in, but this is THEIR time. Ask questions. Listen to their answers. Respond. Don't be locked in to a script. Have a general plan, but be willing to adjust on the fly. Kids really do say the darndest things. They will ask the questions everyone wants to know! Enjoy this conversation with the kids.

Guideline #3: Never forget your adult audience. While your attention is entirely focused on the children, know that the adults in the audience will be hanging on your every word. Pastor, you work hard on every adult sermon and dream of the adults tuning in to your every word. After a few years you begin to realize this will probably never be as true as you wish it to be. Until it comes to delivering kids' sermons! Suddenly adults are craning their necks, leaning forward, entirely focused! Why? Because of the kids. Because of the 'Who knows what will happen?' uncertainty. Because of the fun. Bottom line: the children's sermon may be your best chance to connect with your adult audience.

Guideline #4: Be simple but not surface. Because your attention will be focused on the children, your teaching must also be at a child's level. Simple should be your motto. One main message. Or one main Bible verse. Or one main challenge. However this doesn't mean the children's sermon has to be surface only. In fact, if you dialog with the kids you'll discover they often are wondering about some of life's deepest questions. Don't be afraid to admit that you haven't got it all figured out yourself.  Keep your children's sermon simple, but don't be afraid to go deep!

If you are the pastor of a small church like I am, you probably wish you had some of the advantages of a larger church. But the children's sermon is one ace you possess that your large-church pastor friends can only dream about. While you are small, you have the size and flexibility to invite all the kids up front. This gives you the chance to know all the kids - and their parents - so much better than you ever would otherwise.

I love the time I spend with our CR kids during the children's sermons. How about you? What are you doing to connect with the kids - and their parents - in your congregation? Leave me a comment below. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Supporting My NAMI Wife - My Highest Calling?

"Hey, you're Mary Kay's husband, aren't you?" the fellow sitting at the cafe breakfast counter called out to me.

I'm a pastor and it's Monday morning. My day off. My head was buried in the morning paper. If I thought I was hiding out from the masses who needed my help, I needn't have worried. I'm Mary Kay's husband, after all, and more folks are looking for her help than mine.

"Yes I am."

"I need to talk to her today. My son is off his meds again and got into some trouble. I thought she could help me get his medical records shipped out."

I give him her number and then listen as he tells me about his son's latest problems. He tells me that Mary Kay helps him get things done for his son. "She knows just who to call."

For ten years Mary Kay has been the director of our county's National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. She tells me that 1 in 4 Americans are impacted by a mental illness in the U.S., and I believe it.

When we meet a new couple and we all introduce ourselves, we do the typical American thing by telling what we do. I tell people that I'm a pastor and receive some positive affirmation usually. Mary Kay tells people she advocates for people who have a family member with mental illness and most often the conversation just stops.

Or maybe it would be better to say the surface, polite, getting-to-know-you conversation stops. One of our new friends will lean in, sometimes with tears, and share their struggle with a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a mom or a dad, who suffers from mental illness. Schizophrenia. Bipolar illness. Depression.

This conversation can last several hours. I've learned over the years that many people are walking around with deep hurts and great frustration. Mental illness, it seems, carries with it a stigma - a certain knowing that this is one topic we don't discuss in polite conversation. So when a new friend discovers a welcoming "I've been there too" reception from a person like Mary Kay, the floodgates open up.

When I was in college I studied to be a businessman, not to be a pastor. In my real estate class I learned about the principle of the highest and best use. One can make a profit by purchasing property that is underutilized and converting it to its highest and best use.

Over the past ten years I've changed the main purpose of my life to what I hoped would be my highest and best use - to be a pastor. I love encouraging people with the good news of Christ, with the difference He can make in one's life. I love what I do. The writing. The thinking. The sharing. The leading.

Some mornings, like this morning, I wonder if my highest and best use is really being Mary Kay's husband. I have no doubt of people's need for the good news message of Christ. I have no doubt that people need the encouragement of authentic Christian community.

For many reasons, though, the church is not where most people are turning. Loving, caring, front-line advocates for human kindness - like the kind Mary Kay offers - is where today's hurting person will turn first. Why? Because Mary Kay has been there herself. Because she has practical advice. Because she knows the people who can help, and the ones who can't. And because she genuinely cares.

Maybe the next time we are in one of those meet-new-people situations, I should just introduce myself with my highest and best use - as Mary Kay's husband.

What's Happening at CR: Like Father Like Son

Good Friday morning to you Church Requel!  I hope this weekly blog post finds you enjoying the end of your work week and looking forward to your weekend.  I certainly hope you will find your way to CR on Sunday evening to conclude your Sabbath well with your CR friends.

Mary Kay and I have been enjoying a vacation this week, spending time with my brother Todd and his wife, Amy. Later today we'll visit some of Mary Kay's family in Celina.  Even though I'm away this week, we have planned for a wonderful Fathers Day service at Church Requel!

Pastor Kim Mauer, senior pastor at Ontario Christian Fellowship, will be bringing the Bible teaching to us this weekend.  His focus will be on Solomon's life as a father.  What spiritual training did he receive from his father?  What spiritual training did he pass on to his sons? We'll learn just how important it is to train our children well in our faith.

Speaking of children, Steve Thoman will be inviting the children to come up front with him this weekend. Then the kids will pass out gifts to every dad who comes to Church Requel!  Dads, you will want to show up for this.  Here's a hint - you'll laugh if you come!

My own grandson, Grayden will be reading our Scripture for us this week.  Trish and Haleigh Trubachik will be leading our worship experience together. Pastor Steve will lead our prayer and communion time.  Fathers Day at Church Requel is always special and this year will be no exception!

Welcome New Members!  We conducted our Belong Class this past Saturday.  Three of our attendees decided to make their commitment to Church Requel official by joining the church.  We welcome Diana Devolder, Mike Gilbert, and Lisa Hatfield-Gilbert to our fellowship.  All three are already serving at the church.  Diana takes photos and keeps our online picture albums up to date.  She also helps us with our Church Requel Facebook page.  Mike and Lisa both volunteer every other weekend to setup and teardown at Church Requel.  Mike has also learned how to setup our lighting. Lisa also volunteers as one of our elementary teachers.  Welcome all!

Jack and Sheri's Reception - Jack and Sheri Nichols were married a week ago Saturday at their home by Pastor Mark.  They have invited everyone at Church Requel to attend their wedding reception at their home on Saturday, June 30th from 1:30 pm until 4:30 pm.  All the food is provided.  You bring the fun!

Baptism Sunday on July 1st - We will be baptizing on Sunday, July 1st at our evening Church Requel worship service.  If you also have made a commitment to Christ and would like to be baptized, please let either Pastor Mark or Pastor Steve know.

That will wrap up this week's "What's Happening" post.  We hope you can make it Sunday night to Church Requel!

In Christ's Love, Pastor Mark

Little Miami Bike Trail [Movie]

I enjoyed a long bike ride through Mason and Lebanon, Ohio yesterday with my brother Todd. We both ride recumbent bikes, the kind where the rider can lean back and peddle away. I have over 10,000 miles on my bike. Todd has twice that many! Another beautiful vacation day! I'm hoping to get another trail ride in today. And then I have an appointment with my Kindle and a hammock,

Visiting Todd

I'm taking a break this week from my normal workflow. I thought some of you might enjoy keeping up with Mary Kay and me on our vacation week. We arrived at my brother Todd's and his wife Amy's last night. They both are off the last half of this week as well. We ate burgers on the grill then celebrated both our birthdays together. Then we enjoyed a fire in the back yard. Todd demonstrated his battening alacrity skills once again when he used the leaf blower to breathe life into our fire. Today the boys plan to ride bikes while the girls do a little shopping.

Sermon Notes: First Day Off

Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves.  For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before.  And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say!  For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material.  I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.

Sermon Singles 2: "First Day Off" 06.10.12

Scripture:  Genesis 2:1-3 NIV / Video: "1 Outta 7"

Follow the YouVersion LIVE Event Notes

Listen to this week's CR Sermon & Podcast (fast forward to minute 1 hour 5 minutes to listen to sermon):

Ask: Do you suffer from the disease of hurry sickness?  

The symptoms:

•  Not enough hours in the day, week, month.
•  Sign up for even more - more is better than less
•  Loss of wonder and amazement
•  Schedule is in charge of me (not the other way around)
•  Tempers flare; tension heavy
•  Wake up with dread instead of excitement
•  Relationships weaken - 
  •  with myself
  •  with my family
  •  with God

Big Idea: I work best when I ___REST ON THE SABBATH___.

We need to hear that it’s ok to rest. We need to know that the Bible commands us to rest.  We have a special word we learn today: Sabbath. From Hebrew “Shabbath,” literally means “day of rest.”  Today I want to teach you 4 important concepts about this Sabbath and then 7 hints on how to rest well on the Sabbath.  Here we go...

 

The First Day Off [Video Sermon]

This video's big idea: I work best when I REST ON THE SABBATH . We need to hear that it’s ok to rest. The Bible commands us to rest. We have a special word we learn in this video: Sabbath. From Hebrew “Shabbath,” literally means “day of rest.” Here we will learn 4 important concepts about this Sabbath and then 7 hints on how to rest well on the Sabbath.

 

Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Follow along with the YouVersion LIVE sermon notes.
• Download 120610OUTSIDE
• Download 120610INSIDE
• Download 120610 First Day Off TEACHING NOTES
• Download 120610 First Day Off NOTES SLIDES
• Download 120610 Planning Sheet

All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog.  Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week?  Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices.  You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast.

Podcast 013: Day Of Rest

This week on Church Requel Audio Podcast #13, we focus on the topic of the sabbath, also known as the day of rest.  Most of us don't get enough rest. Most of us don't connect enough with God.  After catching up with Mark and what's been happening this past week you'll hear:

[12:30] Getting Enough Sleep - Some of us are early risers and some are sleeper-iners. Is there an actual physiological difference between those of us who get up early and those who sleep longer?  The folks from NetDoctor.co.uk have some surprising research in their article, "Are You Getting Enough Sleep?"  Shape Magazine also provides some great info on the many wonderful benefits of sleep: "6 Reasons You Need More Sleep."

[25:30] Daily Quiet Time - The purpose of the Sabbath is more than about our rest. It's also our day to connect with God. We don't have to wait for that one day.  We can connect with God every day, even if for just a little while.  Pastor Mark talks about the daily quiet time, why we should have it and how to go about it.

[54:45] Benefits Of A Nap - Recent research has proven that there are great benefits to taking a nap every afternoon.  Two articles Pastor Mark refers to in this segment comes from The Art of Manliness website, "8 Benefits of Napping" and from WebMD, "The Secret (and Surprising) Power of Naps."

[1:05:45] CR Sermon: "The First Day Off" - In this second sermon of the Summer Singles, Mark talks about the very first day off. This wasn't a day off by man, but by God Himself!  We learn 4 reasons why the Sabbath is important to us. And we hear 7 hints for making the Sabbath a reality in our lives.  If you'd like to follow the sermon notes, they are available at YouVersion.com.  At Church Requel we also watched a video about the Sabbath by The Veracity Project called "1 Outta 7."

Music for this week's podcast includes "Rest" by Big Daddy Weave on the One And Only album.

Listen to this week's Church Requel Podcast:

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

This Week at CR: Our Need For Rest!

Good Friday morning to you!  Pastor Mark here with your weekly update about everything happening at Church Requel. I'm loving this more summer-like weather this morning! I'm finally enjoying the warmer temperatures this June! What about you? I hope you are fully engaged in summer: BBQs, baseball, family picnics, hiking.

Hiking in Mohican Forest!

Personally I headed down to Mohican State Park this past Monday afternoon to enjoy some of the hiking trails. The photo on the right is taken on the Big Lyons Falls trail on the way to the Pleasant Valley Dam.  The Big Lyons falls are not so big, but it was fun anyway.  And it gave me a chance to practice what we're going to talk about this Sunday evening... a Sabbath!

Sunday evening we will learn about a disease many of us have.  I confess to personally suffer from "hurry sickness."  The cure is the practice of a weekly day of rest.  Sunday we will discover 4 Sabbath concepts and we'll learn together 7 hints for keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest.  My intent is for Sunday evening's talk to be informative and well... restful.  I suppose it's the only sermon ever delivered where if you fall asleep during the talk then I'll think to myself: "Mission accomplished!" Ha!  Would you like a head start? Check out Sunday's sermon notes from YouVersion.

What's been happening at Church Requel. It may be summertime, but things have sure been busy at Church Requel since I last wrote to you.  

Sheri & Jack wed!

Wedding Bells Chimed. Well maybe not wedding bells, but the birds sure did a lot of chirping! Jack and Sheri got married this past Saturday at their home.  They invited two dozen of their closest friends who watched them share their vows with each other in their beautiful back yard.  It was my great privilege to share the morning with them and share a few words about the wonders and work of marriage.  The Nichols plan to invite everyone to their place for a big party and reception on Saturday, June 30th at 1:30.

Bible Study Completed. Also this past Wednesday, the ladies completed their Bible study from the book of James.  I'm really proud of them.  I can tell you from personal observation that I've never seen Mary Kay more engaged with her own private study.  I'm sure this was true for many of you ladies.  Congratulations!  Enjoy your summer off and come back this fall ready to study hard again!

CR Online Goodness! The international headquarters of Church Requel have been busy this past week with lots of great things for you to read and hear.  Listen to this week's podcast and you'll hear an accurate forecast for stocks (hey, everyone gets lucky now and again), a conversation about the Hatfields & McCoys, and insight into just how Christian (or not) Richland County really is (or isn't!) Also we published an article about why Facebook for the under-13 crowd is such a stinker of an idea. And if you missed it - or just want to read it again - last week's sermon notes about caring for the environment is now posted. 

Leadership Team Met Last Night. Finally your leadership team met last evening over at Steve Thoman's home.  I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by such smart and caring leaders.  We reviewed the finances for the church.  We are still behind on our budgeted revenues, but there is good news! The online giving at Church Requel is working well. In fact we learned last evening that almost two-thirds of our offerings this year have come from online, automated contributions.  Thanks so much for your faithfulness!  That should work well for us this summer - a time when giving to churches everywhere slows down.  As far as the budget goes, we're cutting back on the expenditures as best we can to live within our means.

Prayers.  Let's all say prayers of support for Jack and Sheri's new marriage.  May God bless them richly!  Yes please also pray for Church Requel's finances.  Let's thank the Lord for what He has provided and pray that we might have new donations coming in to support the ministry.  Sunday afternoon Sean and Kyle will officially graduate from High School.  Let's pray for their new direction in life.  Keep praying for Dick Jourdan.  He's still suffering from shingles and is facing heart bypass surgery on June 25th. Finally, let's keep praying for Lincoln Bohnke.  Katie and Dan met with the doctors yesterday and learned more about Lincoln's illness.  You can learn more about Lincoln's condition and post your kind support over on their Caring Bridge website.

That will wrap up this week's edition of What's Happening at Church Requel.  I hope to see all of you Sunday evening at 6pm.  It should be good!  Love you all!  Pastor Mark

Sermon Notes: God's First Command

Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves.  For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before.  And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say!  For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material.  I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.

Summer Singles #1: "God's First Command" 06.03.12

Scripture:  Genesis 1:26-28 NIV 

Follow the YouVersion LIVE Event Notes

Listen to this week's CR Sermon & Podcast (fast forward to 1 hour mark to listen to sermon):

Video: “Environment” [4:27] by Highway Media

New Summer Sermon Series.  A series that’s not a series. Calling it Summer Singles.  Why?  Three reasons. #1 - Each sermon is separate from all the others. Single. If you miss one you don’t miss the whole thing. #2 Each talk will have one single big idea.  You walk away on Sunday and someone asks on Monday what we talked about, you can tell them.  #3 It’s summer. Baseball season. The single is the most important hit.  Sure, home runs get all the glory, but it’s usually the team that can consistently hit the singles that win the game.  We are going to talk about important “singles” that can help you win in your Christian faith.

Today - God’s 1st Command. When we think back to Genesis and we think of the story of Adam and Eve, don’t we usually think about God’s command about NOT eating the fruit from the Tree of Eternal Life? However God’s 1st command was not a command of restriction.  Just the opposite!  The command is infinite in its scope.  Eugene Petersen, when he translated Gen. 1:28, put it this way: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take Charge!”  Here’s today’s single, BIG idea!

Why Under-13 Baby Facebook Is A Stinker Idea

Facebook recently floated the idea that it is considering expanding it's social media website to children under 13 years of age. This morning USA Today asked two child experts their opinions of this decision.  Not surprisingly both the child advocate and the child psychologist thought that this wasn't such a good idea.  

USA Today didn't ask me. I admit that I'm not a child expert.  Unless you count the fact that I raised 4 children. Unless being a grandpa of six counts. For what it's worth, these are my thoughts as a grandpa and a pastor. There are 3 big reasons why Baby Facebook is a stinker.

Stinker Reason #1: Children under 13 aren't ready for the social interactions of the internet. Toddlers and preteens are still trying to figure out the social interactions of the playground.  It's hard enough to get that right.  Sure, Moms and Dads should be supervising them  - but the truth is many parents don't do this well as they should.  What is put on the Internet stays on the Internet! Consider just one childhood trauma that you suffered through as a kid.  Would you want that following you around the rest of your life? I'm grateful that I don't remember much of it.  I don't want Facebook reminding me. Also kids aren't ready to make such an adult decision as to whether they want to be internet connected or not.  I love Facebook and being connected to family and friends. My brother - just two years younger - has no desire to do the Facebook thing.  Same for my dad. At one time, my adult daughter decided to take a Facebook fast and left the social web for an entire year.  Leave the adult decisions not just to the parents of the kids, but to the kids themselves - when they become adults!

Stinker Reason #2: The parents of pre-teens aren't ready to supervise these children on the internet.  The one thing that Moms and Dads should be able to do with absolute authority - and certainty - is manage the social interactions of their children. My parents taught me and I taught my children (and I hope they are teaching their children) that one of the most important things to learn is who your friends are.  We are defined by the friends with whom we hang out.  Throwing Facebook into consideration makes this job so much more difficult.  The whole definition of "friend" changes with Facebook. As an adult who knew what real friendship meant for 5 decades before Facebook changed the idea, I can differentiate between "friend" and "Facebook friend." The 5-year-old will struggle with this subtlety.  Besides all this, which adult friends would even want to risk being "friends" with a youngster on the Internet?  Who wants to be that special uncle exchanging photos with a kid?  Moms and Dads, don't forget that your main social objective of child-raising (teaching your child the value of solid  relationships) and Facebook's social objective (connecting as many people socially to one another as possible) are miles apart.  In this regard, Facebook is NOT your friend!

Stinker Reason #3: This is a terrible idea for Facebook too.  I understand that Facebook is not on the same growth curve of new users as they used to be.  And I know that the pre-teen market is a valuable advertising market.  I get it - Facebook wants to be to today's kids what television was to my generation.  Facebook, your timing stinks! You just came out with your initial public offering, which hasn't gone so well.  Your newest investors are feeling not only like they're losing money (which is bad enough), but also that they didn't have all the same facts as the largest institutional investors.  So now you want to solve your growth problems by exploiting children? This is your solution? Holding out the shiny apple of social marketing to kids?  I'm wondering if someone is asleep at the switch over in Facebook Land!